


The Right Consequences

by smartbuckley



Series: The Right Series [3]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Albus Dumbledore Bashing, Canon Divergence, Gen, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Manipulative Albus Dumbledore, Molly Weasley Bashing, Severus Snape Bashing
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-08
Updated: 2020-02-08
Packaged: 2021-02-19 09:21:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 8,542
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22608658
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/smartbuckley/pseuds/smartbuckley
Summary: Harry finally has a choice to make and people to talk to. How well will Albus/Molly/Snape take the news and are the people Harry decided to trust the right ones? Third installment from The Right Parent/The Right Friends. Sirius/Harry bonding. Mentions of abuse small amount. The usual amounts of character bashing. Divergent from Book 5.
Relationships: Sirius Black & Harry Potter
Series: The Right Series [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1626742
Comments: 24
Kudos: 216





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Originally posted January 19th, 2017 on fanfiction.net. Currently in progress.

If there was one thing that Harry Potter did not want to focus on, it was the abuse he had been put through while growing up. He could handle talking about it with Sirius, especially now knowing that Sirius had gone through something similar himself. And he was fine talking about it with Ron, Hermione and the Twins, since they had seen the state of his room at the Dursley's and Hermione was an intelligent muggle, and most importantly, they were his closest friends. So he was fine with talking about it in front of them. But then there was everyone else, people Harry barely knew, or trusted, mainly because up until this point, they were always on Dumbledore's side, never questioning. For that reason alone, Harry didn't know if he could talk about his abuse in front of all of these people, if he could trust them with knowledge that caused him to be _this_ vulnerable.

It takes him a few moments to realize that Sirius has knelt down in front of him and he finds himself letting out a small smile, cheeks turning red as he thinks about all of the times so far that his godfather has had to comfort him about something. He supposes that's what he's meant to do, but it's still such a foreign concept to Harry that it takes him a few moments to do anything about it. "Harry, we don't have to do it in front of these people if you don't want to do it in front of them," he hears and Harry can't believe that he's lucky to have Sirius as a godfather and he finds himself smiling gratefully at his godfather. He ends up looking around the room, thoughts going through his mind at a fast speed as he tries to decide what to do. He knows that he doesn't want Dumbledore, Snape or Mrs. Weasley to know what he went through, mainly because he knows that those three would try to use that information against him. But he needs a way to get them out of the room because the others - the others could possibly be trusted.

It comes to him then, a surefire way to get what he wants and know who to trust, and he knows it will work. He just has to execute this correctly. He looks towards his godfather briefly before narrowing his eyes at the crowd around him slightly. He knows no one has noticed other than those closest to him, but still.

"I'd be willing to share with everyone," Harry answers slowly, trailing off when he notices the three that worried him smirk in victory. He's never been for one to be disappointed as thoroughly as these three will be, but - "As long as everyone here is okay with doing an unbreakable vow that they won't use the information against me or share it with someone not in this room." He finishes, hiding his smirk when the victorious smiles fall off the faces of Dumbledore, Mrs. Weasley and Snape. He can feel the pride blooming from his godfather and Harry can't help but look over with a smile, his face flushed at the feeling of someone being proud of him.

He looks around the room, having been focused only on the reactions of the trio. If he wants to know who to trust, he needs to be looking at everyone, he thinks briefly. He also knows that this is really important to him, sharing something like this with a large group of people who don't really know him all that well yet, anyways. It takes him a few moments to look around the room, and when he does, he feels like he shouldn't be surprised at everyone's reaction. There's the twins and Ron, who are all grinning at Harry and watching everyone else. Then there's Hermione, whose frowning slightly at Remus but smiling at Harry when she notices him watching her - and if that doesn't have him feeling relieved, he doesn't know what will - and then there's McGonagall whose glaring openly at Dumbledore. That one surprises him most, if he's being honest. He knows that McGonagall has always followed Dumbledore, even to the point of blindly doing so; so seeing her glaring at the headmaster is both confusing and heartwarming. He moves on though, watching the reactions of some people, and missing some before looking towards his friends one again, knowing that Hermione would have caught the one's he's missed.

"Kingsley, Tonks and Moody all nodded in approval when you suggested the unbreakable vow. Mr. Weasley looked slightly uneasy but smiled at Ron, which I take to mean that he's okay with it. With no surprise, Mrs. Weasley, Professor Dumbledore and Snape all looked murderous when you mentioned the unbreakable vow and have yet to stop glaring at you." Hermione states, catching her breath before continuing onwards, "Figg and Mundungus both look extremely uncomfortable and keep looking towards Dumbledore for direction and unfortunately, so does Professor Lupin," She finishes here quietly, looking around the room before looking at Harry.

Harry, who has to chose carefully, especially when it comes to Professor Lupin. He knows how much the family friend looks up to Dumbledore, and there's a rather large part of him that seems to be resentful of Remus in regards to coming to visit him during his times at the Dursley's both before he was taught by Remus and after, and he doesn't want that to effect the decision too much.

Briefly, he finds himself looking towards Sirius, wondering what he could possibly do. He knows that, in the end, this is his decision but he also knows that Sirius can help him make the decision, and that he's lucky to have Sirius. He's biting on the inside of his cheek as he waits for something from Sirius, and finds himself in slight disappointment when all his godfather does is arch an eyebrow.

"It's up to you, pup," Sirius responds and Harry finds himself sighing before looking around the room once more. He realizes that Sirius wants him to make the decision so that everyone knows how mature and factual he is about this, but -

He also knows it won't be easy. With another sigh, Harry looks towards his friends, gaining strength from their resolved nods and looks towards Dumbledore with a glare before everyone else, softening his features.

"If you're not willing to take an unbreakable vow, you can leave. If you're willing to take a vow but will attempt to share my truths anyways, you can leave and not suffer the consequences of the vow being broken. If you're still planning on staying -" He trails off here, glaring at the three he knows will have problems, before continuing, "I will choose who I think seems fit to here what I need to say." He finishes, expecting the blowout that comes.

The room is loud, just like he expected, as Mrs. Weasley shrieks at him. It's the only thing he hears, and he ends up flinching a little and shirking backwards before calming down when he feels Sirius' hand on his shoulder, squeezing gently.

"Mrs. Weasley, enough." Harry snaps, eyes wide as his hands clench into fists. He's glaring openly at the woman and he steps forward when he notices her opening her own mouth, probably to continue with her vitriol.

"I've had it up to here with you constantly complaining about my decisions, and the decisions of my family. If you're not going to stop constantly arguing about these decisions, then you can leave," He snaps finally, nearly panting before arching an eyebrow. It surprises Molly, he can tell, but it apparently it doesn't surprise her enough because with narrowed eyes, she steps forward, snarling about how she practically raised him in the wizarding world, and he would do good to listen to her, arm raised with a wooden spoon in hand before she flings it forward, using the spoon to slap Harry on the arm. All is silent for a few moments as the people in the room stare at Molly in surprise, mouths open and wide eyes. It's only a few seconds later, though Harry can admit that it felt like moments later, that there was a huge boom in the room before Molly was being dragged backwards by an unknown force, kicking and screaming in surprise.

Most people would've been surprised about that, if it had not been for Sirius stepping forward, eyes deadly. Briefly, Molly gulps as she looks up to him, but she's continuing to be forced backwards, and there's nothing she can do as Sirius snarls at her:

"I handled you being mothering towards my godson enough as it was Molly, but you won't get the chance to go near him after that. This house, in case you've forgotten, is _mine_. I've invited you in and you should've realized that I could uninvite you, and hurting my godson in **any** way would send your nosy ass packing. You won't ever come back, and you won't ever have the chance to come back," Sirius snarls as Molly screams while being kicked out of not only the room, but the house. All remains quiet for a few moments before Sirius turns towards Snape and Dumbledore, who both begin opening their mouths as if to get on Sirius' good side.

"I'm not even going to _bother_ letting you two explain," He snarls, magic forcing the two of them out of the home just like Molly. Harry's eyes are wide, and he looks towards Sirius to ask him if he's okay, but -

"You need to change secret keepers!" Hermione blurts out and Sirius looks towards her before nodding his head.

"Anyone else have any problems with Harry's demands?" He asks, and when the room is silent, he nods his head and turns away, no doubt planning a quick change in secret keepers as Minerva and Moody both stand up.


	2. Chapter 2

With Sirius, Professor McGonagall and Moody gone from the room, alongside Mrs. Weasley, Professor Dumbledore and Snape, Harry allows his entire body to relax and fall into the chair he was originally sitting in, his arms coming up to rest on the table in front of him. He can feel Hermione squeezing his upper arm gently and he looks towards her with a small smile on his face, shifting his body a little so they can whisper, just in case.

"So, Figgs, Mundungus and Professor Lupin were all looking towards Dumbledore for guidance? What happened when Siri kicked him out?" Harry asks, his eyes moving towards the three in question, not surprised to find two of them looking around haphazardly and Lupin looking right at him. The stare makes him slightly uncomfortable but instead of allowing the older man to see, he arches his eyebrow silently and looks back at his best friend after the old Professor finally concedes and looks away. Harry doesn't know why he has resentment towards one of his father's best friends' but after a few moments, he himself looks away with a silent promise to talk to Sirius about it, maybe figure out why he is resentful of the professor. 

"Well, both Mundungus and Figgs looks shocked," Ron begins, Harry nodding as he continues to add on that they had opened their mouths to either say something or because they were so surprised, and that they looked like they were going to stand up and say something, until Hermione had reminded Harry's godfather that they needed to switch secret keepers so that Professor Dumbledore couldn't get back in. With a frown, Harry finds himself wondering how that would work, looking around the room in hopes that someone could tell him but finding everyone else in their own little discussions and deciding to wait for Sirius before he asks that question.

"When it comes to Professor Lupin, however—" Hermione begins, biting her lower lip for a few minutes, eyes trailing towards the Professor and Harry continuously as she tries to sort through the thoughts running through her mind. "He had looked confused when Professor Dumbledore was removed, but not so much with Ron's mom and Professor Snape. In fact, he was smirking when Mrs. Weasley was removed but it faded a little with Professor Dumbledore and --"

"Though we definitely saw him smirk at Snape as he was leaving," Ron interrupts Hermione, causing her to roll her eyes at him before nodding briskly. 

"And then you had your little stare down with him, which, by the way Harry, what on Earth was that about?" Hermione asks, moving in her seat as she finally asks the question she had been wanting to ask. Chuckling softly at his friend, Harry finds himself looking towards Professor Lupin quickly with a frown on his face, not sure how to explain himself to her, or how to explain his feelings. He remains quiet for a few minutes as he tries to sort through his feelings before eventually, shrugging in response. Opening and closing his mouth a few times, he shakes his head in finality, still not knowing what to say.

"Well, I'm sure you'll figure it out eventually, Harry," Hermione responds with her voice soft, hand moving towards his and squeezing gently before her eyes move towards the entrance to the kitchen, Harry's own following them before seeing Sirius returning with Professor McGonagall and Moody behind him. Upon noticing his godfather, Harry feels something within him relaxing completely, his shoulders falling into a relaxed form as he smiles at Sirius, who has returned to sit next to him.

"So, how did you guys change secret keepers?" Harry asks immediately, a small frown on his face as he wonders how something like that could even work while Sirius snorts in response and ruffles his hair, Harry wrinkling his nose playfully in distaste. 

"It involved a rather complex spell version of the Fidelius Charm, especially since Albus wasn't around for us to remove it from him, originally," Sirius begins with his own frown, looking around the room as he begins his hushed response, arching an eyebrow at Mundungus before continuing. "Even with Albus, it wouldn't be easy, but without him, it took both Alastor and Minerva to help me out with the spell – removing it from Albus without him around, and then casting it on someone new, someone only I know." He responds with a small wink, nudging Harry.

"Eventually, I'll tell you though. For now, your safety is number one," he adds, and Harry feels something warm combing through him, something that makes his heart pound fast in his chest as he smiles at his godfather.

Before a response can be said however, Mr. Weasley clears his throat and Harry looks towards his best friends' dad, remembering why they were all sitting around the table and feeling something put pause inside of him as bites on the bottom of his lip, looking towards his godfather, unsure of how to progress from here. He knows that everyone wants to know what he has gone through at the Dursley's, but how is Harry supposed to begin over something like this? 

"Remember, you don't have to do this if you don't want to," Sirius says softly, nudging Harry gently, "And if you do, you don't have to tell everyone everything. You can pick and chose whom you tell things to and how much you tell them." Sirius finishes, and Harry feels relief rush through him once more, grinning at his godfather in appreciation. Looking around, Harry watches everyone carefully, noticing the little things that maybe they don't want him to notice before he sucks back a breath and then slowly releases it, looking at his friends briefly with a small smile, knowing they're there for him just as much as Sirius is.

"Maybe we should begin, though I can admit, it won't be easy to do so," Harry states, tongue darting out to wet his bottom lip as he notices everyone shift forward, the tension in the air rising with anticipation as he clenches his hands into fists, preparing himself.


	3. Chapter 3

Molly Weasley paced angrily in front of the doors to what she  _ knew _ was an important place, her heart hammering inside of her chest as she muttered to herself furiously. To any onlookers that bothered walking throughout the dreary neighbourhood, Molly wouldn't seem terribly out of place, most people believing her to be another crack addict lost in the dark streets of Grimmauld within the night. To Severus Snape and Albus Dumbledore, however, and any wizards or witches who walked by, Molly Weasley would appear to have gone mad with anger. For the middle-aged woman stood on what she assumed was the doorstep to the home she had just been kicked out of, though where that home was, what it looked like on the inside, and any other details she had about it were slowly fading from her memory the longer she stood there, causing her to fret with numerous emotions coursing throughout her body. She felt lost, which only made her feel even more angry, a small growl escaping from her as she turned around in a flash, narrowing her eyes at Albus Dumbledore, even though he was in the exact same predicament that she was in. Ignoring the other man next to Albus, she finds herself frowning at the older man, only now just realizing  _ how _ much older he is than the rest of them, how much more he's been through in his life. With that spare thought, Molly allows herself to straighten her body, not realizing just how slack and relaxed it had become as she steps right in front of her old headmaster and current mentor. 

"Surely there's a way we can get back into ---" Molly begins, only to trail off as she tries to remember the place she was just inside. The words are just out of her grasp though, and she continues to feel angry towards Black as she can't recall anything other than him ungratefully kicking her out of his home that she made habitable and as cheery as possible. She did everything she could for that damn infestation of a home, and she didn't even receive a 'thanks for your troubles' from that mutt, Black. Letting out another growl, the grown woman clenches her hands into fists, eyes narrowing into slits as she tries to think of  _ something _ she can do to get back everything she's worked so hard for the past few years. It takes her a few more minutes – the count of five, to be precise – for the woman to calm down and relax completely, her hands uncurling as she continues to pace once more, her mind trying to come up with things to say. 

She couldn't however, focus on finding the words to speak, as she was still quite angry with one Sirius Black for kicking her out of his home. How dare that man, she thought, her pacing becoming more and more frantic. How dare he kick her out, despite all the things she had done for his ungrateful ass. From cleaning his disgusting ancestral home, cooking him food without thanks, to even reminding him that he must follow Dumbledore's orders. And of course, how dare that man try and tell her to not go near Harry. Harry was  _ hers _ to love and treat like family, not Black's, despite what he thought.  _ She _ was the one who gave him birthday and Christmas gifts. She was the one who hugged him hello and goodbye.

And don't even get her started on that boy, she thinks with a scoff, shaking her head as her pacing slows but continues nonetheless. She gave that boy love, fed him food even though she couldn't afford to feed another mouth (lest she forget she was stealing money from said boy) and even allowed the brat to stay in her home, with the eventual hope that they would be called family, through marriage with her youngest – the numerous potion ingredients hidden in her bosom a testament to that. But no, instead the damned boy had to go on and side with his stupid mutt of a godfather, and oh, that really grated her nerves. Continuing to pace, Molly finds herself tensing up once more, jumping in surprise as a voice reaches her.

"Will you stop that damn pacing,  _ woman _ ," Snape drawls with a roll of his eyes before he pinches the bridge of his nose, breathing through his mouth as he himself ponders what he can do next. He could feel Dumbledore's piercing gaze on him, and he knew the moment the Weasley woman was no longer with them, the two would truly sit down and have a discussion but in this moment, Severus could only think of what he could tell his Master, once he returned. Inwardly, the man winces, knowing his Master won't be too pleased that he's been kicked out of the home where the Order meetings were taking place, but he also knew that with Dumbledore believing him to be spy for the light, he would know everything that was of importance no matter what.

Of course, it was a shame he wasn't going to learn more about Potter's home life to give to his master as good tools for torture, but he had no doubt that he could look into one of the students' brains and relive the memory of the night from their eyes. 

Watching the Weasley matriarch continuously pace in front of him however, was causing the man to have the rather large urge of cursing her into stopping, especially upon sneaking into her mind and hearing her personal rant about how unfair the entire situation was. What that woman knew about unfair matters, Severus didn't know, but seeing her pace continuously was beginning to wear thin on him and snapping at her was the only thing he found he could do, even if Dumbledore stared at him with disappointment painted on his face (not like that worked with Severus anymore – hasn't since he was fifteen, admittedly). Sure, Severus himself could barely remember where they were and what was going on, and sure, he was thoroughly furious at the mutt himself, but unlike the Weasley woman, Severus also knew how to control himself in front of other people – and of course, unlike the woman in front of him, he wasn't even at fault this time.

Oh no, Severus based the blame solely on that brat, Potter, and his idiotic godfather, Black. For if it wasn't those two annoyances, Severus would be warm, comfortable and enjoying a nice drink in this moment, telling the foolish members of the  _ Order _ numerous lies that they thought were helping them in the war that was brewing. A scoff escapes from him as he tries to clear his mind, knowing that any moment, the old coot next to him would try to peer into his own mind, like he hadn't built his defenses up to an extreme amount. 

"Do not make me tell you again,  _ stop pacing _ ," He snarls after a few more minutes of thinking quietly to himself, his mind building wall after wall on the off-chance Dumbledore tries to look. He notices the frumpy woman stop and stare at him, opening her mouth to no doubt begin her tirade against him but with a simple flick of his wand, he silences her completely, rolling his eyes while looking towards the older wizard with a scowl. He doesn't dare say anything with the Weasley woman so close, but he knows the moment Dumbledore and he return to Hogwarts, they're going to be up long into the night, talking about how to make things go their way, back to normal – or, well, as normal as Dumbledore thinks it is.

And Dumbledore – Dumbledore was furious. Oh sure, he seemed calm on the outside but on the inside, he was screaming profanities inside of his mind, wondering what he could do to try and learn what it was that Harry was telling everyone inside of Sirius' home. Albus needed to be inside of that damn home, he needed to be able to control what was being said and what Harry was finding out and with Sirius' attempt at control being complete while overthrowing his own, Albus found himself thinking of as many ways as he could in order to get everything right once more. 

Of course, Albus knew that it wasn't going to be easy – he was going to have to double down on the compulsion spells on both Sirius and Harry, obliviate nearly everyone he knew and  _ somehow _ find a way to be the secret keeper to the home he couldn't  _ quite _ remember once more. Those tasks alone were huge and daunting and Albus wanted to get started on them right away.

Turning towards Severus and Molly, he throws the younger man a quick look before smiling softly at the woman. "We should probably go back to Hogwarts, Molly. Maybe it is best if you go home and do something to calm your nerves," the suggestion is light, his hand slowly moving as he compulses her to agree, his smile widening when she does, turning around and apparating away.

"I'll see you in my office, Severus," Albus adds with a small frown when he turns towards the young man, stepping away shortly afterwards and disappearing himself, his thoughts firmly on how he can get the young Potter back under his control.

* * *

Harry sat at the table with everyone looking at him, his heart pounding as he frowned, trying to find a way to begin. Everyone was watching him, which he was used to, but his mind had gone blank when everyone had turned towards him, awaiting him to begin the story of the abuse he had gone through. Or maybe he should say the explanation. Because it wasn't a story – not to him and most definitely not to Sirius or his friends but everyone else, Harry wasn't sure of.

Letting out a soft breath, he bites on the inside of his cheek as he looks around and taps his fingers on the outside of his legs, still trying to find a place to begin his explanation. Frustration leaking through him, Harry looks towards his friends, and then Sirius, and then everyone else before grabbing a drink of water and sipping from it, nerves coursing through him as he wastes time.

A few moments pass and as Harry puts his goblet down, he looks towards everyone before shrugging, nearly throwing his hands up in the air. "I have no idea to begin, to be honest. Maybe it's just best if you ask me questions and I can go from there? And then if need be, I can further explain things." He finishes, looking around towards everyone and seeing their acceptance of his statement. Looking towards his godfather, Harry finds himself flushing when he notices Sirius' grin of pride towards him, a small laugh escaping him.

"Let's begin," He finishes, shrugging, waiting for the first question.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry tells about his abuse, and then about his years at Hogwarts

Staring around the room cautiously, Harry looked at everyone as he waited to see if anyone would have any questions for him before his eyes widened and he turned towards Sirius with a small grimace. While he knows no one is going to blame him for forgetting this step in the process in the first place, a rather large part of him is embarrassed for having done so, still attempting to make Sirius proud with everything he does and feeling like this was just a misstep. 

“We uh, we need to do the unbreakable vow. I forgot. Do uh - do you think you could help me with the wording of it, Siri?” Harry ends up asking, voice quiet though it doesn’t stop everyone from hearing him, since the room was already quiet to begin with, waiting for something to happen and someone to ask a question. As Harry’s cheeks turn red while the people still in the room snort or laugh, he focuses only on his godfather, who is looking at him with his own small smile, and patience in his eyes that have calmed Harry down numerous times since he’s joined everyone here.

“Luckily for you kiddo, I wrote something down quickly while I could,” Sirius responds with a small smirk that has Harry turning red once more before grinning and grabbing the piece of paper his godfather had held out for him, reading through it quickly, then reading through it once more just to be sure. Biting on his lower lip, Harry reads it once more just to be sure before looking towards Sirius and nodding, giving the piece of paper to Hermione, who reads it herself and then nods, approval coursing throughout her body.

“Alright, we’re handing out a piece of parchment with the vow written on it. If you’re not comfortable doing the vow, or the wording of the vow, to the point you don’t want to  _ take _ the vow, we’ll be asking you to leave, so think seriously about it,” Sirius responds, winking towards his godson when Harry grins at his godfather, happy that Sirius is the one introducing the vow while he hands out the parchment, which -

“When did you duplicate the parchment?” Harry asks, with a small frown before grinning once more when his godfather chuckles.

“When you weren’t looking, pup. The advantages of silent and wandless magic is endless,” Sirius says with a small chuckle while Harry opens his mouth in awe before his eyes widen.

“Is that why you brought me up learning some of it earlier this summer?” He asks, leaning forward slightly when some people look towards him in confusion, wondering what conversation Harry is referencing. A few people already know and grin towards the two but otherwise, everyone watches with curiosity while Sirius hums in response. 

“It’s one of the reasons, yes,” Sirius says with a grin before he hands the last parchment to Remus with a small frown. “Alright, you guys have the vow. If you’re interested in saying them, awesome, perfect, look towards Harry when you do, and only at one please so he doesn’t get overwhelmed. If you’re  _ not _ interested in saying the vow - stand up now and leave or forever hold your peace - literally,” Sirius finishes with a shrug while Tonks snorts and Harry smirks.

After a few minutes, Harry’s not surprised when Mundungus and Figg stand up and leave, Figg looking at Harry with a guilty smile. While he knew it was going to happen, part of him still hurts that these two people would so obviously take Dumbledore’s side, and not even try and --

“Breathe, kiddo,” Sirius whispers, his hand squeezing Harry’s shoulder as Harry does just that, eyes closing briefly as he tries a few deep breaths to clear his mind. After a few minutes of silence, silence in which Harry knows everyone is waiting for him, he opens his eyes and smiles gratefully at his godfather before looking around.

“No one else is planning on leaving?” He asks, his eyes drifting towards Remus subconsciously, shifting when the family friend arches his eyebrow at Harry, causing the younger man to blush a little while Sirius snorts.

“Don’t act surprised, Remus. Harry has every right to think you’d stand up and walk out based on your past history,” Sirius responds and Harry knows it’s because he’s protecting him and something in Harry blossoms at his godfather protecting him, even from his last remaining best friend.

When Remus in turn, looks away guiltily, Harry lets out another breath before looking around the room, surprised that no one else is leaving.

“Alright, I’ll guess we’ll begin. Uh, go around the circle, to my left?” Harry says and eventually, everyone slowly begins giving their vows, lights encircling them and Harry as the vow is completed before they sit down, having stood up to do their vow in the first place. By the time everything is over, Harry feels emotionally exhausted, like there’s a weight on his chest and shoulders that he can’t get rid of, but he’s not sure what else he would need to do, so instead, he looks towards his godfather, who had helped him with the proceedings.

“Maybe a quick break, get some food and drink into you before we get into the heavy stuff?” Sirius suggests after a few minutes, running fingers through Harry’s hair, sensing his godson’s exhaustion clearly and not wanting to push him any more than he’s already been pushed. Harry thought about it for a few minutes before blinking up at his godfather tiredly.

“I’d rather just get it over and done with now, admittedly. Can we eat and drink while we talk?” Harry asks, voice quiet as Sirius nods and mountains of food and drink appear thanks to….

“When did you hire Dobby?” Harry can’t help but blurt out when he sees the house elf, eyes wide while Sirius snorts.

“A little while ago. It’s a story for another day. Just know he’s very happy to be here, and he’s even been helping Kreacher some,” Sirius snorts while Harry lets out a small laugh before carefully grabbing some food, watching as everyone else had already started eating without him noticing. After eating quietly for a few minutes, Harry looks around at everyone and takes in a small breath, exhaling when he feels like it’s the perfect time to do so before looking towards his godfather for reassurance, grinning when he sees it in Sirius’ own smile.

“So, for as long as I can remember, I’ve been abused by the Dursley’s,” Harry begins, looking down and away as everyone becomes silent and watching him, wondering what else Harry has to say. He takes another deep breath before continuing, avoiding everyone’s eyes.

“And it wasn’t just physical abuse - sure, they would slap me around if I didn’t do something they liked, or made a mistake, or just -- was around, I guess, but a lot of it was emotional and mental, too,” Harry begins, biting his lower lip and shifting towards Sirius, trying to figure out how to get his thoughts across properly. Briefly, he feels Hermione take his hand and squeeze, and he squeezes back before allowing Sirius to pull him into his side and wrap his arm around Harry’s shoulders as a form of comfort.

“I was cooking for them at an early age. I never knew my name until I was in school, always believing it was  _ boy _ because that’s what they called me. I was never fed properly, and was punished for things out of my control or that I didn’t do but Dudley did.” Harry starts, but once he does so, he can’t stop. He tells everyone about all the ways the Dursley’s abused him - how they kept him in a small boot cupboard under the stairs until he received his Hogwarts letter, and even then, how they kept that from him until it was almost too late. How he had bars on his window, locks locking him inside the bedroom he did have, a cat flap for food to be given to him, regulated moments where he could go to the bathroom -- the list went on and on, Harry getting lost in all of the moments he didn’t like to think about, his body weight slumping deeper and deeper into Sirius’ side, needing the comfort of his godfather.

He doesn’t see the looks everyone is giving him as he tells about the abuse and neglect he went through, his mind too caught up in revisiting to the past to a point where it takes him a few minutes to realize that not only has he stopped talking - Sirius has enveloped him in a hug that has him hiding in Sirius’ chest, tears falling down as he sobs lightly.

“Hey, it’s alright, kiddo. I’m here, and you’re never going back there again,” Sirius whispers to Harry gently and while Harry  _ knows _ this - has known this since he first told Sirius about everything he went through at his aunt’s house, there’s still a rather large part of him that finds it so damn hard to believe, that thinks at any moment, he’ll be forced to go back to his own form of Azkaban.

Harry doesn’t know how long it takes for the sobs to taper off and his eyes to dry, but when he does, he turns, finding himself thankful when he realizes the twins are distracting everyone with their antics so that no one is watching him and making him feel more insecure than he would normally.

Wiping his eyes with the back of his sleeve, Harry looks around the room and takes steadying breaths, smiling when he feels Sirius squeeze his shoulder once more before turning towards his friends and smiling at them.

“Right, so uh, now what?” He chuckles, wiping his eyes once more before taking a sip from his goblet, feeling dehydrated after the crying he had done. Briefly, he notices Ginny looking at him carefully with a small frown, and wonders if her Mom might try and get her to throw the vow away for information, but before he can ponder that thought any further, Sirius tugs on a strand of his hair lightly to get his attention and Harry looks away and towards his godfather. Briefly, he realizes everyone has settled down and is now looking at him and Sirius once more, and he feels a surge of insecurity course through him before he shakes the thoughts away and bites the inside of his cheek, waiting for Sirius to say whatever it is he needs to say.

“Thank you, kiddo, for being brave enough to open up to all of us about the abuse you went through,” Sirius begins, smiling softly at his godson before looking around at everyone else sitting at the table with careful eyes, clearly thinking things through. When Sirius lets out a small huff of breath, Harry moves slightly, wondering what’s going through his godfather’s mind.

“Now that you all know why I want Dumbledore nowhere near my godson --” Sirius begins after a few moments before pausing, a few people waiting before he continues, “Because he clearly knew what was going on and wasn’t planning on putting a stop to it, we need to decide what our next steps are,” Sirius finishes and Harry looks towards his friends, briefly thinking about Neville and wondering if the other boy should be here too before looking towards his godfather once more.

“There are steps that need to be taken, of course, but you understand--” Sirius begins once more before stopping, humming and hawing for a few minutes while looking around the room, almost as if he’s the one whose unsure of how to continue.

“I guess, the first question I have to ask for all of you, is if any of you have any questions for myself or Harry about anything you’ve heard today?” Sirius asks, looking at Harry briefly while Harry smiles back and nods, knowing that if anything gets too out of hand, his godfather will be right there with him. Briefly, the room is silent before, surprisingly, it’s McGonagall that breaks it first.

“Why else don’t you trust Albus? Other than him leaving Mr.Potter with his Aunt and Uncle when he’s been abused?” Sirius paused here, looking at his old professor with curiosity, wondering how much she knew and how much she didn’t know.

Briefly looking around the room once more, Sirius finds himself chuckling and shaking his head. “That, Minerva, is a long story that would require the help of those three over there to tell it,” he admits, tilting his head towards Harry and his friends, before looking towards them with a small smirk. 

“Are you guys willing to help a man tell it?” He asks, his smirk sliding into something more neutral as Harry grins and nods at him.

“Alright, we’ll clean up, take a small break, and then come back to talk about  _ why _ none of us trust Albus Dumbledore,” Sirius responds with a small snort while Harry himself lets out a laugh and Ron and Hermione grin in response, not wanting to give anything away but knowing just how much everyone will be surprised.

* * *

By the time everything has been cleaned up and put away, twenty minutes have passed and Harry couldn’t be more thrilled to have stretched his legs and gotten away from everything in the kitchen, if only so he could breath more easily. When he finally sits back down at the table with a new goblet of pumpkin juice in front of him, he grins towards his godfather and friends, something in him excited over what he’s about to tell everyone else, mostly because he’ll finally be able to be  _ heard _ . 

“Alright, what is it you need to tell us, Mr.Potter?” Minerva questions and Harry finds himself biting his lower lip as he tries his best not to let out a small laugh, looking towards Ron and the twins with a small smirk.

“So, we think the first form of manipulation came in regards to telling me how to get to Hogwarts in the first place,” Harry begins after a few moments of silence, before knowing how to continue, “When I ended up receiving my letters, after the numerous amount already sent, it was Hagrid who had come to see me and had tried to explain things to me. Later, after talking to others, I know it was you, Professor, who had gone to other muggle born witches and wizards, and I never really understood  _ why _ it wasn’t you when it came to me.” Harry had started, pausing briefly when he realizes McGonagall’s nostrils have flared and she’s huffed a little.

“He told me he had gone to see you and to explain everything,” she responds after a few moments and Harry can’t help but huff out his own breath of frustration while Sirius snorts.

“It’s something I suspected, since I know you like to visit the people new to the community yourself,” he whispers watching Harry carefully before nodding when Harry begins speaking once more.

“Everything went well but Hagrid forgot -- or was instructed to, perhaps -- not tell me how to board the train to Hogwarts, so when I was finally at the station, I was looking around without a clue. It wasn’t until I heard Mrs.Weasley shouting about muggles and the platform itself that had me following her, to see what was going on,” Harry stated slowly, trying to remember back to that day so many years ago. He notices, briefly, the adults frowning, especially when Ron adds that his Mom was acting like they hadn’t already known where they were going or what the platform was called.

“Almost like she had been told that Harry would be there, and wouldn’t know how to board the train,” Tonks whispered with wide eyes, surprised that something that obvious had even happened in the first place. The room is silent as the statement is taken in by everyone - all of the adults in the room who hadn’t known surprised at the fact that Harry had boarded the train in that way, and that it ended up being planned, by Dumbledore, no doubt.

“So he made sure not to tell you about how to board the train so that you met our family -- but why?” Fred questioned with a small frown and Harry -- Harry didn’t know how to answer that, especially with Ginny in the room but thankfully, his godfather answered it for him.

“Molly has been trying to dose Harry with love potions. As he’s my heir -- well, I was made aware of it immediately.” Sirius responds, voice soft and apologetic as he looks towards Arthur, who is frowning in clear anger. 

“So you think that by having Potter close at hand--”

“She was able to dose him more easily,” Tonks and Kingsley say quietly while Sirius nods, squeezing Harry’s shoulders briefly, probably understanding that Harry isn’t a big fan of the knowledge he’s been given in the moment. 

“Unfortunately,” Sirius adds, blowing out a small huff of air before looking towards Harry, questioning. Harry ends up nodding, letting his godfather know he’s okay to continue, and with a soft smile, Harry does.

“Throughout the first year, it wasn’t completely obvious that I was being manipulated. Not at least, until the end of the year,” Harry begins with a small frown before he, with the help of Ron and Hermione, tells everyone about the philosopher’s stone. The trio lay out how they figured out everything, and more importantly, how they realized that each portion the other professor’s had set up had suited them almost perfectly, the only difference being the herbology bit, which was clearly something meant for Neville.

While they’re telling the story as best as they can, all three of the teens notice the looks of surprise and anger on the faces’ of the adults, and try their hardest not to cringe completely. When they’re finished though, the room is tense and Harry, looking around briefly, has no idea what to do next, even as it’s clear that all of the adults are thinking about what they have just learned.

“That is --” Kingsley begins while Mad-Eye snorts and McGonagall lets out a huff of breath.

“Yeah, you should have seen Sirius when I told him everything,” Harry chuckles, feeling awkward when everyone turns to look at him and Sirius lets out a snort.

“Let’s just say I was incredibly pissed off at Dumbledore, and had to give Harry plenty of moments of support and encouragement so he knew I wasn’t pissed off at  _ him _ ,” Sirius responds with a small wink towards Harry, who only groans in light embarrassment. 

“Well, Mr. Potter, I would like to apologize for not believing in your first year when you had come to me originally.” McGonagall says and Harry -- Harry smiles at her and nods before turning towards Sirius, surprised to find his godfather grinning.

“So, what happened in your second year?” Kingsley questions while nearly all of the students let out a small groan and McGonagall cringes. Slowly, the trio begin explaining their second year, stopping more often when Harry has to breath to calm himself down after remembering the way he felt due to his treatment in the year, Sirius rubbing his back, comforting him the best way he knew how.

As he begins talking about the memory he had interrupted, he finds himself surprised to be interrupted by Moody, who is frowning.

“You mean to say that Dumbledore didn’t piece together what was happening from fifty years beforehand?” He asks, and Sirius chuckles, tilting his head before Moody ends up swearing in response.

“What?” Ginny asks, not quite understanding the revelation while Hermione frowns.

“Dumbledore knew what was going on the entire time because it had happened fifty years previously, with Voldemort. He just didn’t do anything about it because he was trying to test Harry,” Tonks responds softly while Harry looks away, anger coursing through him. Who was Dumbledore to think he had the right to play in Harry’s life like that, Harry thought, crossing his arms, trying not to feel like a petulant teenager, though by the look the twins give him, he’s not doing a very good job at it. After a few moments, the group continues their story, and when they’re done with the year, the room is silent once more as they try to think about what they have learned.

“You know, having had basilisk venom inside of you -- we may need to contact Bill about that. Could be important,” Sirius mutters while Harry frowns, wondering what his godfather means but knowing not to bring it up right this second if only by the way his godfather looks far away.

“That is…. Quite the second year,” Arthur whispers, not having known everything about the year and finding himself wanting to pull his kids close, while everyone else only hums in consideration.

“Third year was quite a doozy, too,” Sirius snorts and everyone turns towards him, blinking, before some people laugh and others smirk while Harry lets out a small sigh, nudging his godfather playfully. 

“While I was in considerably less danger than normal, there was still quite a few manipulations from Dumbledore to consider,” Harry started, becoming more serious than some people have seen him before, “Like, not telling me  _ why _ I was being shoe-horned away from  _ anything _ fun and why I couldn’t go places, or be with friends, etc. If someone had told me from the beginning why, and not just ‘someone is out to murder you’ but the actual  _ why _ of it, I would have been more likely to listen and stay where I was meant to be,” Harry admits and a few of the adults find themselves acknowledging that very simple fact with a frown, realizing how right the young man was.

“Then there was the fact that Dumbledore relied on us to rescue Sirius, even though he was very well in his limits to help Sirius himself,” Hermione adds on with a small whisper while Harry hums in response.

“Yeah, he definitely could have used his mugwump powers,” Harry snorts as everyone else nod their heads, wondering briefly why he hadn’t.

“As far as I can tell, he hadn’t because he knew if I gained custody of Harry - he couldn’t continue to let Harry be abused or be put through tests,” Sirius adds, arm wrapping around Harry’s shoulders as a brief hug is formed.

After a few more minutes of silence, and the adults whispering among themselves, the trio begin to explain their fourth year, and how Dumbledore should have done more to help Harry and not test the younger man in numerous different ways. And even though it was the most recent of years, Harry still finds himself having to stop during the retelling of the last task, hiding in Sirius’ side as he finds comfort in his godfather.

Eventually, the trio are done their retelling and the silence, like all of the other times, is thick with tension as the adults voices raise while they talk about everything that’s been missed, about everything Dumbledore has done and not done. Harry, tired, looks towards Sirius with a small smile, eyes closing briefly as he lets out a small yawn.

“Tired, pup?” Harry hears Sirius ask and he nods. It’s not late, but he’s emotionally exhausted and after everything he’s had to go over today, he really just wants to get to bed, but he knows that once the order leaves, they won’t be back for another few days.

“We’ll finish soon, promise. How about some hot coco to keep you awake for now?” Sirius asks and Harry -- Harry nods, smiling softly before sitting up, accepting the floating goblet with a grin towards his godfather. 

“So, what do we do about Dumbledore’s inaction towards Potter, and Severus, and everything else going on in that damn school?” Moody asks, and that - that is the a good question, Harry thinks, sipping from his goblet carefully, wondering about an answer as the room awaits.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, we're all caught up now, both on here and fanfic.net. This chapter was.... a hell of a long time coming. Comments, concrit and whatever else is love. Story isn't beta-edited, so all mistakes are mine. Here's to hoping I update soon.


End file.
